Category Archives: Hotel / Restaurant

Hotel / Motel

Reno, NV – Fire in basement laundry at hotel casino contained with help from sprinkler system

A fire in a basement laundry room at the Peppermill Hotel Casino forced a brief evacuation of the property Friday afternoon.

Employees at the hotel attacked the blaze with fire extinguishers and the hotel’s sprinkler system also kicked in to contain the blaze as Reno firefighters responded shortly after noon. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames, evacuated the smoke from the building and checked to ensure it hadn’t spread into other areas of the building, Battalion Chief Mark Winkelman said.

Meanwhile, hotel guests and employees were evacuated into the frigid afternoon air. Many huddled in towels and blankets until they were allowed back inside about an hour later. Guests described the scene inside as calm and orderly as they walked down the stairs to get out of the building.  While some guests saw smoke, none said they saw flames.

Keith and Mallory Lynch of San Francisco were celebrating their wedding anniversary with a couples massage at the hotel spa when the fire alarm sounded and they were asked to leave the building. They stood outside in bathrobes and flip-flops, shivering in the 34-degree weather.

“At first they told us not to worry, but then they said we had to leave,” Keith Lynch said. “Luckily we were near the end of the massage.” Corey Mathes, of Fresno, was taking a shower and getting ready for her 4 p.m. wedding at the hotel when security knocked on the door and told her and fiance Craig Frantzich to evacuate.

“My dress is still up there,” she said, noting she grabbed the wedding rings but failed to get their wedding license. “I will beg a firefighter to go get my dress!”

She and Frantzich have been together for 23 years. “We’ll get married today one way or another,” she said.

Winkelman said the damage didn’t appear to be extensive. The blaze put out billows of smoke after lint on the ceiling caught fire, he said. The sprinkler system also caused some water damage.

Peppermill spokeswoman Katie Silva put out a brief statement: “We experienced a fire in our laundry room this afternoon. We appreciate the quick and professional response by the Reno Fire Department in extinguishing the fire.”

 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Riverside, CA – Hotel fire in third floor linen closet extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire that broke out Friday in a Riverside hotel after a holiday lighting ceremony was quickly extinguished by a fire sprinkler, officials said.  Fire officials noted smoke and an electrical burning smell in the Mission Inn Hotel lobby and upper floors shortly after an annual switch-on Christmas lighting ceremony took place, the Riverside Fire Department said in a press release.

A sprinkler in a third-floor linen room was activated and the fire was quickly extinguished, officials said. Fire crews shut down the sprinkler and water seeped through the floor, leaking into the second and first floors of the hotel.

Visitors and guests were temporarily displaced from the hotel and were allowed back into their rooms when the leaks were controlled.  Discarded fireworks debris from the Festival of Lights switch-on ceremony was ignited in a trash can and started the fire, investigators said.

Mission Inn officials said they will continue in-house salvage operations. Initial reports stated that only two guest rooms had water damage. There were no reported injuries.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Chambersburg, PA – Sprinkler system controls fire at La Quinta Inn until fire crews arrive

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The fire broke out around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in the 100 block of Walker Road in the borough, said Chambersburg Deputy Fire Chief Dustin Ulrich in a news release.  A sprinkler system helped control the blaze until crews were in place, and the fire was under control around 10:25 a.m., Ulrich said.

Fire crews arrived to find that a mulch fire had extended to the building, Ulrich said. The fire quickly spread to the third floor of the building and the attic before a second alarm was requested around 8:50 a.m.

The state police fire marshal ruled the fire accidental. No estimate was immediately available as to the amount of damage, Ulrich said, adding that the building was uninhabitable until repairs can be made.

No injuries were reported to either firefighters or to the 25 families occupying the hotel. Crews from the Franklin Fire Department, Fayetteville Fire and EMS, Marion Fire Department, Letter Kenny Fire Department, New Franklin Fire Department, Waynesboro Fire Department, Greencastle Fire Department, West End Fire and Rescue, Mont Alto Fire Department, Cumberland Valley Hose Company, Vigilant Hose Company and Holy Sprit EMS responded to the fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Purcellville, VA – Restaurant kitchen fire contained by automatic sprinkler system

A Purcellville restaurant sustained damage Monday after someone improperly disposed oil soaked rags. Firefighters arrived at the Rancho Mexican restaurant at 101 S. Maple St. on scene to find smoke coming from the front of the restaurant. Fire and rescue crew’s immediately located a fire in the kitchen area that was held in check by an automatic sprinkler system.

 Firefighters quickly brought hoselines into the restaurant to extinguish what fire remained. Simultaneously, fire and rescue units searched the adjoining occupancies for occupants and any extension of fire or smoke. After the fire was out, firefighters began salvage and overhaul operations to remove smoke and gases from the building.  There were no injuries to civilians, however, one firefighter suffered a minor hand injury.

 The improper disposal of oil soaked rags was determined to be the cause of two other recent fires, one in May and another in June, that caused over $2 million in damages. When oil and stain soaked rags are not disposed of properly they become a fire hazard due to their ability to spontaneously combust, according to Loudoun Fire and Rescue.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Asheville, NC – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in extinguishing overnight blaze at local pub

An early morning fire at Westville Pub has been ruled accidental.  The fire was reported at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, said Asheville Fire Department spokeswoman Kelley Klope.  The fire started in the HVAC duct work, she said.

The pub, 777 Haywood Road, posted on its Facebook page that it will be closed for the next few days for repairs. According to a fire department report, crews arriving on the scene found duct work in the kitchen on fire and smoke banked down to about waist level. The sprinkler system was activated and with water crews were able to extinguish the fire, then open up the duct work with a roof hook to ensure it was out.

Hotel / Restaurant, Other Business

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at Sands convention center; No injuries

A vendor booth at an ophthalmology convention went up in flames Thursday night at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, no one was hurt.  Clark County Fire District responded to the alarm at 8:15 p.m. at 201 Sands Ave. The sprinkler system already had been activated. It took about seven minutes to extinguish the blaze, according to a news release sent Friday. Thirty firefighters responded.

Sprinklers kept the blaze from spreading, the news release said. The building was evacuated, and firefighters helped air out lingering smoke. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the fire started.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Johnstown, CO – Restaurant fire at truck stop held in check by sprinkler system

A gas leak and small fire temporarily shut down the restaurant portion of Johnson’s Corner Sunday night through Monday morning.  Front Range Operations Chief Bernie Covillo said crews from both his department and Loveland Fire Rescue Authority responded to a small kitchen fire at the restaurant around 6:40 p.m. Sunday.

“Loveland Engine 6 was the first arriving unit,” he said. “They discovered a small fire that was being kept in check in the kitchen. The fire was quickly extinguished and there was minimal damage.” Covillo said the restaurant was shut down because the sprinkler system had been activated. Johnson’s Corner employees had to clean the restaurant to pass an inspection from the Larimer County Department of Health.

The restaurant, which never closes, is located at 2842 SE Frontage Road just off Interstate 25. Employees were stationed at the front of the restaurant Monday morning turning customers away and offering them complimentary cinnamon rolls and cookies.

“This is a really bad thing,” Christy Hall, a Johnson’s Corner cashier said. “So many people come here. I know another month we had a tiny fire — but (the restaurant) was definitely not closed for this long.”

Employees confirmed later on Monday that the restaurant reopened at 12:30 p.m. However, they directed further questions to the restaurant’s corporate office, TravelCenters of America. Requests for comment were not returned.

“It just so happens there was a fire the same day they are remodeling,” Hall said.  Covillo said that Johnson’s Corner officials and their insurance agency would be investigating the cause of the fire.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Bridgeport, WV – Fire at TownePlace Suites hotel contained to 3-by-3 foot area by sprinkler system

The TownePlace Suites on Platinum Drive in Bridgeport caught fire Monday morning. Crews were dispatched to the hotel at approximately 9:20 a.m. after receiving a fire alarm activation notification and a call from the front desk advising there was something on fire on the fourth floor.

The Bridgeport Fire Department Chief said a candle left unattended in one of the rooms caught fire. The fire was contained in a 3-by-3 foot area on the fourth floor.  The third and fourth floor rooms are uninhabitable due to water damage. The fire chief said the sprinkler system kicked on as it should have, and the hotel is trying to get a water restoration company to come in and get the water cleaned up.

The Bridgeport Fire Department responded. The Anmoore, Nutter Fort, Clarksburg and Mount Clare Fire Departments, Harrison County EMS and Bridgeport Police assisted on scene.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Valdosta, GA – Fire at night club put out by sprinkler system

The Valdosta Fire Department responded to a fire call early Saturday morning, before dawn, at Club Deja Vu. Reports stated the sprinkler system in the club operated as designed, extinguishing the fire before the fire department arrived.

Fire crews opened the building, removing smoke and turned off the sprinkler system. Damage was estimated to by $10,000.  The club was closed at the time of the fire, per reports, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.